Automatic weft-replenishing loom



Sept. 13, 1938. w. A. DICKIEET AL 2,129,994

AUTOMATIC NEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed April 14, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 18 15 14 WILUAM A. DICKIE FRANK C- HALE WILUAM HOWARTH INVENTDRS Sept. 13, 1938. w. A. DICKIE ET AL AUTOMATIC WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed April 14, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 6 7 M l V////// I i m mwm E W Lw W H 7 CM Km m FW Sept. 13, 1938. I w. A. DICKIE ET AI. 2,129,994

AUTOMATIC WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed April 14, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 71 70 \NlLUAM AD\CK\E FRANK c HALE WILUAM. HOWARTH Sept. 13, 1938. w. A. DICKIE ET AL 2,129,994

AUTOMA' I'IC WEFT REPLENISHING' LOOM I Filed April 14, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 WILLIAM A- DICKIE FRANK C HALE WiLLlAM HOWARTH mvzuw'ns jg ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC WEFT-REPLENISHING LOOM Application April 14, 1931, 'SeriaI'NO. 530,018 In Great Britain June 12, 1930 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to weft-replenishing looms, i. e., looms in which weft is automatically supplied 'on exhaustion. The invention is particularly concerned with the weft replenishment of looms which have a change-box mechanism for the insertion of different kinds of weft for mixing or other purposes.

According to the invention, a weft replenishing loom comprises a change-box motion, a shuttle o magazine containing as many kinds of weft as there are shuttle boxes, and means for replacing a shuttle whose weft is exhausted by a shuttle containing the same kind of weft.

The means for effecting the replacement of a 5. spent shuttle by another shuttle containing similar weft are set into operation by means of suitable feeler mechanism which detects the exhaustion of the weft many of the shuttles. For example a mechanical or electrical weft detector 20. dGViC6 may be provided for each shuttle and adapted to set in operation mechanism which removes a spent shuttle from the shuttle-box and transfers a full shuttle from the magazine to the box, the selection of the shuttles from the maga- 25 zine being efiected from the change-box motion, or even from the feeler mechanism in cases when each shuttle has its own detector.

The replacement of a shuttle is preferably carried out with the loom at rest, in order to avoid danger to the loom mechanism, breakage of shuttles, or damage to weft or warp.

It is convenient in change-box-looms to detect the approaching exhaustion of weft in the shuttle which has just moved out of picking position, ,since the movement of the shuttle itself can be 'used to bring the weft into contact with the feeler mechanism. It is consequently necessary to delay changing of the spent shuttle until that shuttle is again picked into the shuttle box on 40 the magazine side of the loom, and the invention therefore comprises means to give the requisite delay, which in the case of a two-box loom has to extend over three picks.

The invention enables weaving on crepe looms or other looms using two or more diiferent kinds of weft to be carried out with the advantages obtainable by the use of shuttle-changing mechanism for replenishing the weft. Thus, the weft is subjected to little stress, either during shuttle- 50 changing or during picking, which is particularly important when artificial silk .is used as weft, and there is no danger of the end of weft in a spent shuttle being drawn into the fabric on the next pick.

55 The invention will now be described as apshowing details of the shuttle-releasing mecham;

nism;

Fig. 3 is a further magazine detail;

Fig. 4 is an-end elevation of the loom showing the detector mechanism;

Fig.5 shows theelectrical circuit of the detector mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the loom showing the means employed for putting the shuttlechanging mechanism into operation;

Fig. '7 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan of the starting handle and associated parts shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a plan of part of the mechanism shown in Figs. 6 and '7;

Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the loom showing the shuttle-changing mechanism; and

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the loom restarting mechanism'shown in Fig. 9.

Referring to Fig. 1, the two movable shuttle.

boxes I2 at one side of the loom are shown as operated by a rod 13 connected to one end of 'a lever 14 pivoted on a shaft I5 and oscillated by an eccentric l6 under the control of a Geneva a mechanism H which causes the boxes to be moved up and down after every two picks. The shaft l5 runs the length of the 100m and at the end remote from the lever l4 carries alever I8 which is connected by a link 19- and lever 29' to a rod 2! carrying a block 22 which is thus caused to rise and fall in accordance with the movement of the boxes l2.

Mounted above and below respectively the movable shuttle boxes l2 are detector devices .23 each comprising a pair of movable metallic plungers .24 adapted .to be pressed against the yarn on the pirns 25 by the movement of the boxes l2. Thus, when the boxes are moved upwardly to bring the lower box to the level of the shuttle race 26, the upper plungers' 24 are pressed against the yarn in the upper shuttle.- Similarly, when the boxes are lowered, the lower plungers 2 are pressed against the yarn in the lower shuttle. A plunger of each pair is connected by a lead 21 to one terminal'of an elec- 5 tro-magnet 28 and the other plunger of each pair is connected by a further lead 29 to a battery 30 or other source of current which in turn is connected by a lead 3| to the other terminal of the magnet 28.

The pirn tubes may be made of metal, or provided with a metallic strip or other metallic coating so that on exhaustion of the weft, contact is permitted between the pair of plungers 24 of any one detector when they are pressed against the exhausted pirn. Consequently, the circuit of the magnet 28 is completed, and this serves to bring a catch 32 from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5 to the position shown in dotted lines.

The catch 32 and the magnet 28 are mounted below the shuttle race 26 in such a position that on the forward movement of the lay the catch 32 passes above a notched block 33 while the magnet remains de-energized. On actuation of the catch 32 by the magnet 28, the catch is adapted to engage the notched block 33 and so operate mechanism which stops the loom and sets the shuttle-changing mechanism into operation. Since, however, at the time when weft exhaustion has been detected that particular shuttle has moved out of picking position, stoppage of the loom has to be delayed until that shuttle is again picked to the other side of the loom, i. e. after three picks. The lever 34 carrying the block 33 is therefore pivotally mounted at 35 on a bellcrank lever I34 which is operated by a cam I35 to move the block 33 out of the path of the set catch 32 on the first forward movement of the lay after detection of weft exhaustion, and to move it again into the path of the catch on the next pick, the catch of course remaining set by the continued engagement of the plungers 24 with the exhausted pirn. The other shuttle has by this time returned to its box l2 and the spent shuttle is picked to the other side of the loom, which is then stopped.

To stop the loom, the lever 34 is provided at its upper end with an extension 36 which, when the lever 34 is rocked about its pivot 35 by the catch 32, moves an arm 31 to release the starting handle 38 from a retaining catch 39. The handle 38 is then free to spring along the slot 40 to stop the loom through a link 4| connected to a lever 42 operating a clutch 43 on the driving shaft 44 of the loom, as shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

Referring now to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the lower end of the lever 34 engages with a pin 45 on one arm of a bell-crank lever 46 whose other arm is connected to a link 41. This link is in turn connected to a lever pivoted at 48 and consisting of two parts 49, 50 pivoted together at 5| and connected by a spring 52. Integral with the part 49 is a catch 53 which tends to move in a counter-clockwise direction by reason of the upward pull of the link 41 caused by engagement of the lever 34 by the catch 32.

The purpose of the catch 53 is to release mechanism which will set the shuttle-changing mechanism in operation, and in order to ensure that this action cannot take place except by reason of weft exhaustion, means are provided to prevent movement of the catch in any'other circumstances. For this purpose a latch 54 pivoted at -55 is supported horizontally by a cam 56 which engages a pin 51 on the latch, and the end of the latch is arranged to oppose a projection 58 on the catch 53 except for a short instant when the loom is being stopped due to weft exhaustion.

The cam 56 is connected by a link 59 to the brake arm 60 which in turn is connected by a link 6| through a lever 62 having a lug 63 extending over the arm 31 of the loom-stopping mechanism. A bowl 64 on the starting handle 38 engages the lever 62 on starting of the loom and causes the lug 63 to rest on the arm 31 to keep the brake rod raised and the brake band 65 free. When the loom is stopped by engagement of the rod 36 with the arm 31 the lug 63 is freed and the brake arm 69 falls under the influence of the weight 66 to apply the brake. At the same time the cam 56 is rocked and momentarily raises the latch 54 above the projection 58 to permit the counterclockwise movement of the catch 53 under the pull of the link 41. It will be seen, therefore, that should the link 41 be pulled at any other time than when the brake is being applied due to weft exhaustion, the catch 53 is unable to move, the lever comprising the parts 49, 50 merely being broken about the pivot 5| against the action of the spring 52.

The catch 53 is adapted during running of the loom to prevent movement of a lever 61 pivoted at 68 and tending to move in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6 under the action of means to be described later. Release of the catch 53 frees the lever 61 and permits the setting in motion of a shaft 69 which drives the shuttle changing mechanism. The shaft 69 carries a disc 10 facing a further disc 1| loosely mounted on the shaft and driven by gears 12 and a chain drive 13 from the driving shaft 44 of the loom, which, of course, continues to run even when the clutch 43 is de-clutched on stopping of the loom.

A lever 14 is pivoted across the face of the disc 16 remote from the disc H and the end 15 of the lever 14 passes through a hole in the disc 10 and is constantly urged towards the disc H by means of a spring 16. The disc H has a circular series of holes adapted to receive the end 15 of the lever 14. The spring 16 is prevented from causing the part 15 to enter the disc H by means of a shoe 11 mounted on one end of a rod 18 connected by a bell-crank lever 19 and links to the lever 61. When, however, the lever 61 is released by movement of the catch 53, the spring 16 is freed from the restraint of the shoe IT and forces the part 15 into engagement with the disc II, so setting the shaft 69 into motion.

The shaft 69 carries three cams 8|, 82, 83 adapted (1) to raise the shuttle box front 84 at the side of the loom at which shuttle changing takes place to eject the exhausted shuttle by means of the ejector 85 actuated by lifting of the box front, (2) to move the conveyor lever 86 from the position in which the conveyor 81 rests below the magazine 88 to the open shuttle box so as to transfer a shuttle released from the magazine to the shuttle box in replacement of the exhausted shuttle, and (3) to re-start the loom as will be described later.

The magazine 88 comprises two chutes 89, 90 containing shuttles corresponding to the two kinds of weft being laid in the fabric. The shuttles are retained in position by catches 9| pivoted at 92 at each end of the magazine and projecting through the end walls 93 of the magazine. These catches pivotally support levers 94 connected by links 95 and bell-crank levers 96 to rods 91 projecting laterally from the end of the magazine opposite the rod 2|. The movement of the rod 2| in accordance with the movement of the shuttle boxes l2 moves the block 22 into line with the rod 91 appropriate to the part of the magazine corresponding to the shuttle which is to be replaced.

When the shuttle is exhausted an eccentric 98 on the cam shaft 69 acting through a rod 99, bell-crank lever I00, link IOI and bell-crank lever I02, presses a pin I03 on the lever I02 against the rod 2| and causes the block 22 to strike the appropriate rod 9'1, so withdrawing the catches 9| from the ends of the corresponding part 89 or 90 of the magazine 88. The lowermost shuttle is thus allowed to fall to the bottom of the maga zine. At the same time a catch I04 on the lever 94 by which the catch 9| is operated enters each end of the magazine to prevent the remaining shuttles from falling.

On the return movement of the block 22 under the action of the spring I05 pressing against the rod 2|, the catches 9| re-enter the magazine and the catches I04 are withdrawn to allow the remaining shuttles to fall on to the catches 9|.

The shuttle which has been released falls on to a support I06, being guided thereto by a light spring blade I0I. The support I06 is carried on an arm I08 pivoted on a shaft I09, and normally closes the open bottom of the magazine 88. The first movement of the conveyor arm 86 to transfer a new shuttle to the shuttle box is towards a stop IIO carried by the arm I08 so as to bring the arm to the dotted position shown in Fig. 2 and to remove the support I06 from beneath the released shuttle, which thereupon falls on to the conveyor 81. The conveyor arm next moves in the opposite direction, that is towards the shuttle box of the now stationary lay, which has been stopped at back-centre. In the meantime the cam 8| has lifted the shuttle box front through a rod I I I and the box front in turn has actuated the ejector to remove the exhausted shuttle. The shuttle box is thus free to receive a new shuttle.

The conveyor arm 86 then returns to its original position, the shuttle box front 84 descends and the loom is ready to be restarted. Means are preferably provided to release the swell during insertion of the new shuttle and until the box front has been properly lowered.

Restarting is effected by means of a lever II 2 actuated by the cam 83 and operating a rod II3 having a collar II4 which engages a catch II5 pivotally mounted on a tubular member II 6 in which the rod II3 slides. The member H6 is connected by a bell-crank lever 1, link II8, lever H9 and rod I20 to the starting handle 38 of the loom. In the event of the shuttle box front not being correctly lowered to close the shuttle box, as in the case of improper transfer of the new shuttle from the conveyor to the shuttle box, the rod III is prevented from rising to its proper position, and a pin I2I carried by the rod remains in engagement with the tail I22 of the catch II5 to prevent the catch from being engaged by the collar II4. Thus the connection between the rod I I3 and the starting handle 38 is broken, and the loom cannot be restarted.

The various operations just described are carried out during one revolution of the shaft 69. Towards the end of this revolution, the tail of the lever I4 employed to clutch together the discs I0, II is carried beneath the shoe 11, which being free from the influence of the spring I6 has been pushed towards the disc I0 under the action of a spring I23 connected to the lever 61. The lever 61 has also been lowered into position for re-engagement by the catch 53 which returns to its original position under the influence of the weight of the link 41 and associated parts. The shoe 1! is thus rendered immovable so that the tail of the lever I4 is pressed towards the disc 10 and the part I5 of the lever I4 is withdrawn from engagement with the disc I I, with the result that the shaft 69 is brought to rest.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a loom the combination of the lay having shifting shuttle boxes at one end adapted to receive a plurality of alternately active shuttles, with a filling feeler positioned to continuously feel for filling in the inactive shuttle so long as such shuttle remains in inactive position, an electric circuit closed by said feeler when it detects substantial exhaustion of the filling supply, a member normally moving in a fixed path, a latch operative to eflect a predetermined change in the operation of the loom, and means including an electro-magnet in the said circuit for establishing an operative connection between the latch and the said member after the circuit has remained closed not less than one pick.

2. A loom comprising a lay having shifting shuttle boxes at one end adapted to receive a plurality of alternately active shuttles, filling feelers each positioned to feel for filling when the corresponding shuttle is in inactive position, an electric circuit closed by either of said feelers when it detects substantial exhaustion of filling supply in a shuttle, an electro-magnet included in said circuit, a latch operable by the electromagnet, a member normally moving at alternate picks into and out of the vicinity of the latch, means controllable by said member to effect a predetermined change in the operation of the loom, and means controlled by the beat of the lay to bring the member into position for operative connection to be established between the latch and the member after the circuit has been closed not less than one pick.

3. A loom comprising a lay having shifting shuttle boxes at one end adapted to receive a plurality of alternately active shuttles, filling feelers each positioned to feel for filling when the corresponding shuttle is in inactive position, an electric circuit closed by either of said feelers when it detects substantial exhaustion of filling supply in a shuttle, an electro-magnet included in said circuit, a latch carried by the lay and operable by the electro-magnet, a member mounted independently of the lay and normally moving at alternate picks into and. out of the vicinity of the latch, and means controllable by said member to effect a predetermined change in the operation of the loom, the beat of the lay serving to establish operative connection between the latch and the member after the circuit has been closed not less than one pick.

WILLIAM ALEXANDER DICKIE. FRANK CORBYN HALE. WILLIAM HOWARTH. 

